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Thursday, 31 October 2013

Today is Thursday, and that can mean only one thing..............that today is Appreciation Day. The day when we show our appreciation to those who govern us so wisely here in the Village.

I could have sworn today is Appreciation day, but there's no-one in The Piazza, no-one on the balcony of the Gloriette, not a top-hat official from Administration in sight!

Perhaps today isn't Appreciation Day at all! Perhaps it was last Thursday, mind you the announcement did say that next Thursday is Appreciation Day. So that must be it, Appreciation day is not today, it's next Thursday! But then that's what they said last week.....and after all today is Thursday. I wonder if every Thursday is Appreciation Day, and I'm just too early for the ceremony!

It strikes me that the episodes 'Free For All' and It's your Funeral' have a good deal in common.

Both episodes involve a very elaborate and intricate plan which involve No.6. What's more 'Free For All' and 'It's Your Funeral' share the prospect of an out-going No.2, and a newly promoted No.2. The one through Local Elections, the other via Appreciation Day, but in either case this is demonstrated by the use of placards which the citizens carry.

I've often wondered if Potter in ‘Do Not forsake Me Oh My Darling’ and ’The Girl Who Was Death’ are supposed to be the same Potter, but played by different actors, and possibly the same Potter who is assistant to No.2 during ‘The Chimes of Big Ben,’ having gained promotion formerly as the manager of the Labour Exchange in ‘Arrival.’

An expose on the dark side of the Village which is hidden by it’s almost holiday camp like atmosphere. However when it comes to ‘A Change of Mind,’ there is no hiding the matter, it’s darker side as it’s there for all the citizens to see. Citizens who are posted as being Unmutual, who do not then go on to progress through the Social Group meetings, or confess their shortcomings, are then put through the ordeal known as Instant Social Conversion - the dislocation of the aggressive frontal lobes, in short, a Leucotomy! You will recall that such a suggestion of this operation was put to No.2 at the time of ‘Checkmate’ by the Doctor-No.22. Only at the time No.2 said that he was sure that they could help No.6 adjust without such drastic treatment.

So now what’s changed? No.86, she is a doctor who was once posted as being Unmutual - how terrible that must have been for her. Well it probably was at the time, I mean look what happened to No.6. But of course we only have No.86’s word that she was actually posted Unmutual in the first place, but then perhaps the "Social Group" helped her. Now she is attached to the "Social Group" and a doctor to boot. A doctor who thinks nothing of carrying out such operations as Leucotomies, on unsuspecting souls such as No.46 pictured here.

For No.46 there is no more hurry and scurry. His, is a world is of peace and tranquillity, and without aggression. For others, there lies the "Aversion Therapy" room, pictured here.

As for No.6, well before finally being posted as being Unmtual by the Committee, he is given once last chance to gain help, via the "Social Group," a meeting which No.6 enjoys disrupting. It is then, after a number of other complaints that No.6 is posted as being Unmutual, and recommended to go through the ordeal of Instant Social Conversion -to have a Leucotomy performed upon him in fact - the dislocation of the aggressive frontal lobes! Such operations were carried out heavily from the 1950’s onwards, and even into the 1970’s. However the Village medical staff seem to have improved on the medical way such Leucotomies were carried out.

As No.6 is wheeledinto the operating theatre, not even given a theatre robe to wear during the operation!

And it is No.86 herself who carries out these Leucotomies, pictured here in describing just how the operation will work, together with a demonstration of what effect the machine has on the patient at the "Focal Point."

No more the brutal way of Leucotomy operations of the past, I shall spare the reader that much, as here in the Village the medical staff make Leucotomy operations seem almost pleasant and civilised in the way the operation is actually carried out. But no matter how you dress it up, a Leucotomy, is a Leucotomy in anyone’s language, even though in the end No.6 was spared this terrible ordeal.

As No.6 follows No.14, the doctor, from her cottage, through the village and woods to the secret laboratory somewhere in the woods - why isn't this picked up on surveillance camera, and reported by the observers? Or is it something inexplicable, and therefore something we, as the viewer, simply have to accept - I should think yes to that is the answer!

I Wonder Why....

No.6 returned to the Professor's house at the end of ‘The General?’ I don't think it was to offer comfort to the grieving widow somehow. More probable that he was looking for anything that could be found, whatever that might be. Or in other words simply poking his nose in!

I just wonder how long the retiring No.2 of ‘It's Your Funeral’ was on leave for? It must have been a good while, seeing as there was at least three interim No.2's that we see, and there could be any number besides! On the other hand, if the retiring No.2 was on say a fortnight's leave, then that doesn't say much for those interim No.2's who were holding the fort while No.2 was away! It is suggestive that the Village suffers from a greater turn-over of No.2’s that might be thought!

Is That An Order Number Six?

At the hospital during The Chimes of Big Ben and after the interrogation session with No.8, No.6 told No.2 to "Let her go." No.2's reply was "Is that an order no.6?" So perhaps even at this time No.2 knows who No.1 is, and recognises him and No.6 as being one and the same.

The Diminutive Butler

What business does he have in the Committee Chamber of the Town Hall? You would think that our friend the Butler would have duties enough caring for the needs of No.2. But no, he's often seen out and about in the village, one time he even finds time to follow a game of human chess, what's more as he makes his way to the top of the bandstand he even has a Top-Hat administrative official to carry his umbrella for him as they walk together down the street!

Our diminutive friend officiates not only at the awards presentation of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition, but also at the ceremony of Appreciation day. Certainly the Butler knows more than he lets on, and is not simply on the periphery of Village activity. And several years back, the Butler was considered by many to be No.1.

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

I did wonder if the Prisoner’s resignation had anything to do with Seltzman. Because, well we don’t know precisely when the Prisoner last had contact with Seltzman, but we do know that the Prisoner left a roll of film {which contained a picture of Seltzman along with his location Kandersfeld in Austria} at the camera shop just over a year ago. The Prisoner had written a letter to Seltzman just over a year before when Seltzman was staying in Scotland. Also it was a year since the Prisoner went to the final fitting of Janet’s yellow silk dress, and it was just after that when the Prisoner handed in his resignation, and was subsequently abducted to the Village. And the Prisoner had been incarcerated in the Village a year by the time of ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.’ It’s improbable that the Prisoner’s resignation had anything to do with Seltzman, improbable, but not impossible.

Whichever way you look at it, he's an escaped prisoner on the run. No better than any escaped convict! "Considered to be dangerous, the Prisoner is not to be approached under any circumstances" the Chief Constable said today in astatement.

And a more rough looking escaped prisoner you are not likely to meet! Apparently the prisoner came ashore at Beachy Head, this was witnessed by the lighthouse keeper of the Beachy Head lighthouse. And according to James Fraser, the keeper of the light, the Prisoner then scrambled up the cliffs like a "Wee mountain Lamby," in a place along the cliffs where there had been a recent landslide of the cliff face due to the erosion of the chalk cliffs.

By this time the police were hard on the trail of the said prisoner, who was apparently aided by a young gypsy woman, who gave him a cup of "hot broth" before sending him on his way.

The police by this time had set up a series road block in the Beachy Head, Eastbourne, and Bexhill areas in an atempt to recapture the escaped prisoner. Although it is possible that the prisoner has found a way round the road blocks, especially if he is not travelling by road. On foot, but over open countryside is more the likely. However it was suggested that the Prisoner might have found another way. By secreting himself unbeknown to the driver, inside the back of a truck or lorry, after the said truck or lorry had passed safely through a road block.

It is thought that the escaped prisoner is heading for London, where he is expected to meet with old friends who might harbour the said prisoner and help get him out of the country. I asked the Chief Constable today what this escaped prisoners crime was? The Chief Constable told me that the prisoner was doing "life" for an undisclosed crime, for which he was unable to give a reason for at this time.

It was once written that "Why didn't No.6 hear the villagers evacuating? Where did they all suddenly appear from when he returned? Was everyone in on the plot? Wouldn't it have been a risk to take other genuine prisoners away from the Village?

Well of course No.6 didn't hear the village being evacuated in the night, because no-one left the Village! No, not everyone was in on the plot, they were asleep. As from where Villagers appeared when No.6 had been returned to the village, well from their homes, and buildings of the village of course. Finally it wasn't a risk to other prisoners, I refer you to the first answer given.

It’s Carnival

The Town Crier has announced that Carnival is decreed for tonight, that there will be music, dancing, happiness all at the Carnival - by order.

Music might be playing and happy laughter and cheering heard. But none of the citizens mouths are moving, a simple wave of their flags is the only acknowledgement the citizens give.

It maybe Carnival, but it here in the village Carnival is simply another form of manipulation of the citizens of the village. Who later are turned into an angry mob, by the manipulation of the court, baying for the blood of the Prisoner!

Mrs. Butterworth

She may appear to be the kindly middle aged widowed woman, who is intrigued by a raggedy man who shows up on her door step. Who listens to the mans story about the car she drives, invites him in, and not only feeds him, but co-operates by showing him the lease of the house and the logbook of her car.

More than that, Mrs. Butterworth cannot let the Prisoner go like that, at least not without a wash, shave, and change of clothes. Those of her late husband Arthur’s clothes, who just so happens to be the same size as the raggedy man - the Prisoner. But don't be fooled by this kindly woman who allows the Prisoner the use of what was his kar, who promises to bake him a birthday cake if he doesn't forget to come back, which the Prisoner promises to do.

Martha, Mrs. Butterworth's personal housemaid, who didn't take to the raggedy man she finds on her mistresses doorstep. In fact she doesn't take to the Prisoner at all, and looked down her nose at him. But Martha is loyal to her mistress, well she has to be, following her to the village the way she did. Mrs. Butterworth knew exactly what she would be getting into by accepting her secondment to the village as No.2, but Martha, she had no idea, and no idea that her kindly mistress Mrs. Butterworth would one day leave the village, but leave her behind. That is the kind of woman Mrs. Butterworth is, not kind at all, but a hard hearted woman. She knew that although one day she would be allowed to leave the village, but not so her housemaid Martha.

Martha-No.2 encounters No.6 again at the kiosk in the episode of 'It's Your Funeral.' It appears that Martha has a sweet tooth and despite her weeks credit allowance having been all used up, she cannot go a day without her sweets. And that's when No.6 takes pity on her and buys a bag of candy for the lady. Sweet tooth, or is there something in the sweets sold to her by the kiosk vender, which makes them addictive? Well you know how the village works.

But in any case, I bet life in the village brought Martha-No.26 down to Earth with a bump. And no longer does she look down her nose at people, her once superior manner now a thing of the past, now that she is no better than anyone else in the village. Here she is and here she'll spend the rest of her days.

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Remember, while No.6 is being conditioned to smoke black Russian cigarettes, to eat nothing but flapjacks {pancakes}, to be left-handed, growing a beard and moustache etc, etc. Curtis is in another part of the Village learning to be No.6, and has been living in '6 Private' while No.6 is living in '12 Private'!

During the Prisoner's de-briefing by No.2 in 'Arrival,' the Prisoner's date of birth is missing from his file. No.2 said "Well there you are, now lets bring it all up to date." "Four thirty-one am, nineteenth of March nineteen twenty-eight." Other than that the Prisoner had nothing to say.
This led me into thinking just how important the reason behind the Prisoner's resignation is to No.2 and his Administration? After all only four of the 17 episodes of 'the Prisoner' actually deal directly with the question of why No.6 resigned. So it occured to me that the reason why No.2 persists with the question of why No.6 resigned, is simply because they want to bring the Prisoner's file up to date. The reason behind the Prisoner's resignation being the one piece of missing information!

If we are to believe that No.6 and No.1 are the two different sides of the same persons personality, No.6's alter-ego being No.1, and vice versa. No.1 who No.6 launched in that rocket, to whatever hate might befall him, could No.6 actually survive without that darker side of his nature? What I mean is, look what happened to James T. Kirk that time when there was a cock-up with the Enterprise's transporter - in splitting the two sides of Kirk's nature. His "good self" who found it difficult to survive without his "darker side."

Of course when No.6 actually gets to meet No.1 - his alter ego, this can only work in allegorical terms, because no-one can actually get to physically meet with his other self, his alter ego. So in actual terms, when No.6 went to meet No.1, he wasn't meeting himself, but someone else entirely - that could only be Curtis of ‘The Schizoid Man!’

The Prisoner - Its A Damned Nightmare!

And it all starts after the Prisoner has handed in his letter of resignation. His abduction followed by two men in black - Undertakers - who having rendered him unconscious, then carry a coffin into his home, and carry it out again with the Prisoner inside. A coffin which they place inside their hearse and calmly drive away.

The village where everyone appears to be happy, citizens who have everything they could wish for, save for their freedom, their individuality, and a name to be called by! The Village - which gives the air of a seaside holiday resort, which hides something dark and dangerous, like the hospital where experiments are carried out on the patients therein. Leucotomies, the isolation of the aggressive frontal lobes are carried out on patients without a qualm. To make nothing of the "aversion therapy" room.

‘Free For All’ has the first No.2 who doesn't care what happens to No.6, or how she goes about getting what she wants ;

"Will you never learn..... this is only the beginning... We have many ways and means but we don't wish to damage you permanently... Are you ready to talk?"

I hate to think what this No.2 puts No.6 though during the following days, probably just was well we do not witness that! But I suppose the darkest time during the nightmare of the Prisoner must surely come with the ‘Dance of the Dead,’ and as the title suggests, it's all about death. The dead body found by No.6 on the beach - the brain dead citizens - the termination order set against Roland Walter Dutton, but in his case death would be a happy release I should think! The use of the dead, first by No.6 as he uses a corpse to send a message to the outside world, and then again by No.2, who sees a massage sent to confirm a known fact, that No.6 has died in an accident at sea. And of course No.6 is sentenced to death at his trial, simply for the possession of a radio! But originally, the script for ‘Dance of the Dead’ called for everyone at the dance to die, save for No.6 who then could be aliened to be death itself!

Village Slogans

I can understand the reasoning behind such village slogans as "A still tongue makes a happy life" or Questions are a burden to others, answers a prison for oneself," "Of the people for the people, by the people," that last one borrowed from one of the many Gettysburg addresses, I forget which one for the moment. And as for "A still tongue makes a happy life" I know the origin of this one, but who wrote it and others used in the village is beyond me at the present time. I mean "Questions are a burden to others, answers a prison for oneself", it reads as though they were written by resisting citizens, not of their keepers, or if they were by those who refused to disclose anything about themselves.

Monday, 28 October 2013

This simply for the rapport between 2 and 6, something which should not have been able to happen, seeing that No.2 is changed quite often so that it should be impossible for a relationship to develop betwen No.6 and No.2. It is a scenario seems to have failed in this case!

No.2 "Why did you resign?"
No.6 "What's that sir?"
"Oh come along boy, why did you resign?"
"From what sir?"
"Now my boy you know perfectly well what I'm talking about....why did you resign?"
"I can't tell you that sir."
{Once Upon A Time}

Of course No.6 cannot tell No.2 why he resigned, because he hasn't done anything yet. He was regressed to the age of 5, and at this point in time, he's only just received his school certificate! It has always been my opinion that No.2 jumped the gun here. Perhaps he was too keen to deiscover the reason behind the Prisoner's resignation. I don't know why, even if No6 had told No.2 the reason behind his resignation on the first day, there were still 6 more days to go in the Embryo Room!

The above pictures were taken during the evacuation of the Village during 'Fall out.' It is suggestive, by the appearance of all those helicopters, that everyone was evacuated from the Village. And yet those helicopters are not very large, they could not carry more than four or five people at most. And these citizens who are running away from the Village, what chances of them being air-lifted from the Village? It appears to be panic which drives them away, but where are they running to, and what will become of them once the Village is evacuated? Perhaps there will be only one place they can go, back to the Village!

And When The Questions Cease To Be A Burden To Others & We've Made A Prison For Ourselves, what then is left?

Well nothing less than a brilliantly devised Television series. Because no matter how satisfying it is to put answers to questions, arrive at fitting interpretations of the events, happenings and individualistic items seen in the series, there is a point we all eventually arrive at..... a personal understanding of the Prisoner. How deep that understanding is, or how long we each take to arrive at such an understanding, one thing is certain, with understanding comes a peace of mind.

For myself I have questioned the prisoner, put interpretations to, and arrived at an understanding of the prisoner which might not please many, but one with which gives me peace of mind. Because for over a period of some three years I have been carrying out such an in-depth study of both the Prisoner and all related material which has never been carried out before, which resulted in a very extensive manuscript The Butler Speaks. And during that time I found it nigh on impossible to sit and watch any episode of the Prisoner without noticing something which I had previously missed or that which needed either writing upon or researching. But now my researches are as complete as they can allow, having been able to put answers to 97% of the questions posed by both the Prisoner and his village. Having been able to put interpretations to those events which create such puzzlement or misinterpretations of everyday occurrences by the use of reasoned logic. And all I need now is a publisher to take my magnum opus. Not that I would say that it is complete, because I suppose such a work can never be completed, because even today there is still the odd item which rears its head and sets me off again on the research trail, but even then times like that get fewer and fewer, and finally I have to draw a line somewhere. And even after such researches as I may have carried out, there are still certain aspects to both the Prisoner and his village which cannot be explained. Which I suppose is no bad thing.

So now I can sit back and watch all the episodes of the Prisoner and enjoy them for their own sake, from the powerful and unforgettable opening sequence to the build up of the canopied penny farthing of the closing credits. And as any good observer worth his or her salt will tell you, not all of the closing credits are quite the same, in regard to the canopied penny farthing I mean.

Have I ever tired of watching the Prisoner? No, is the swift answer to that question, even though I know the episodes backwards and I imagine that can be said of any fan of the Prisoner. yet I don't make it a regular watching of the Prisoner as a complete series. What I mean is, my wife and I might watch the whole series once or twice a year, then we like to dip into the series from time to time, watching an episode here and an episode there, made possible by the fact that even as a series each episode is a story all in its own right. If I were to watch an episode tonight, it might be Arrival, ‘Checkmate,’ ‘Dance of the Dead’ or ‘Hammer Into Anvil’ but certainly one of our more favourite episodes which just happen to be with most of the action centred around the village.

And then there are times when I try and picture in my mind the things which take place between the episodes we see. such as Curtis-No.12 parading around the village masquerading as No.6 in a cream blazer. The time of the Village festival as suggested in ‘The Schizoid Man.’ And when the episode of ‘The General’ really began to take place. Because the Professor and his wife just didn't arrive in the village the day after The Schizoid Man, the art class held by the Professors wife tells you that much, and when was the computer The General brought to the village? And what would be seen as the continued use of the Seltzman machine of ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling,’ even without the good doctor Seltzman! And what happened to No.2 after his breakdown, such was the bed waiting for him in the psychiatric ward of the hospital! Such examples as these, along with other instances are what intrigues me now. Perhaps there is the call for a short story or three to be written in order to please my over imaginative mind.

It's No.6 who has died in an accident at sea, well that's the story which will be put out, once that body which had been amended to look like No.6 has been found at sea. Well that's the story of ‘Dance of the Dead.’ But hang on a minute, what as originally planned in the original screening order, that ‘Dance of the Dead’ featured before ‘Many Happy Returns’ - who would that figure? I mean the reported death of the Prisoner, who has died in an accident at sea, but then turns up alive. Surely that would have made his ex-colleagues - the Colonel and Thorpe - take their ex-colleague seriously right from the start.

Hero Or Anti Hero?

During his escape in ‘Many Happy Returns,’ the Prisoner has no qualms in attacking the two supposedly gun-runners in order to achieve his liberty. However I suppose this is quite understandable, seeing what the Prisoner has been put through during the time after his abduction to the village, and now in being so close to his freedom, the Prisoner will not allow anyone to stand in his way!

No.6 returns to his cottage at the end of ‘The Chimes of Big Ben.’ No.6 clicks his fingers and his cottage door opens automatically for him. This to the announcement over the public address system "Good evening citizens, your council wishes to announce an exciting competition.... the subject this time, seascapes...." And it has always seemed to me that the female announcer is rubbing salt into No.6’s wound as he returns to his cottage!

Aversion Therapy

Playing Devils advocate, this scene might not be as bad as first thought by the viewer.

After all this is taking place at the hospital, and not every doctor is carrying out human experiments on the hospital patients. Well perhaps they are even in this instance, but "aversion therapy" can mean therapy for patients with phobias, a dislike of something, a repugnance towards a specific thing, possibly even an allergy of something. And so patients are being treated for such here, a voice coming through the headphones each patient is wearing, a voice telling them not to fear whatever their particular aversion is. Well its possible, however unlikely the reader may find this idea.

Sunday, 27 October 2013

Two failures in a row for No.6 like that, having his hopes dashed and knowing that he can never win. You would think that would be enough for any Prisoner, "the straw that broke the Camels back," but not No.6. He seems to me to be a real glutton for punishment!

Chess is something which figures largely in the Prisoner, from the matches played with the ex-Admiral-No.66 through to the 11 move checkmate wins by No.6 during the episode of ‘It’s Your Funeral.’ However it is ‘Checkmate’ in which chess figures the most, and on a much larger chessboard, human chess matches are the order of the day. Although both sides look alike, each of the human pieces dressed in village attire as they are, which No.6 sees as complicating the matter. However each person on the chessboard does carry a chess pole, the head of which denotes the chess piece he or she represents. But even then you have to learn how to distinguish between the whites and the blacks, the way it is in life, you judge by attitudes. You soon learn who's for you or against!

So with both sides on the human chessboard looking identical, you have to judge by attitudes do you? Well in my book there is a much easier way to tell the two sides apart, and its a rather simple one. As a chess player the people standing on the chessboard with their back turned to you are your chess pieces, and those facing are those of your opponent!

Unless someone turns round on their square of course! But we won't go there.

Like the Butler during CheckmateI have followed the moves made on the chessboard, and I can tell you, if you have not already noticed for yourselves, that after a certain number of moves the game no longer makes any sense, the moves I mean. And what about the Rook-No.53, he might have been removed from the board by the pair of medics for demonstrating the "cult of the individual," having made a move all his own.

"Check!"

But that move was more than illegal on the part of the Rook, it was impossible because as the Rook moves forward he brushes past an opposing Rook and struts forward onto the back rank and pronounces "Check." But the opponent to the chess champion-No.14 had only previously "castled" moving the King's Rook onto the King's Bishop square and the King onto the King's Knight's square. But having said that, when the Rook does make his move, the King stands alone on the back rank!!!!!!!!!!

Its all in the editing I suppose!

And one final curiosity. It is not No.2 at the end of ‘Checkmate’ who returns the white Queens pawn to the chessboard, but the Butler!

Thus it has been written, because they see No.2 having actually died in ‘Once Upon A Time,’ then being brought back to life, resurrected from the dead in fact, during ‘Fall Out.’ But No.2 didn't die, for to use the actual word of command used by the President........ "Resuscitate!" Meaning to revive when apparently dead or unconscious.

It’s Inexplicable And Difficult To Comprehend!

The way in which No.2, Colin Gordon of ‘A B and C,’ is less than a week to discover the reason behind the Prisoner-No.6's resignation, in fact he only has 3 days.... but if he had a "free hand" But if any harm comes to No.6........

So why wasn't this particular No.2 not given a free hand? I mean No.2 sets up No.6 for a fall during ‘Free For All,’ and the new no.2 seems as though she could have unspeakable things done to No.6, and feel nothing towards him.

No.2 in ‘The Schizoid Man’ is given free reign to break No.6, this to gain the reason why No.6 resigned. No.2 of ‘Dance of the Dead’ had No.6 put on trial - in ‘Hammer Into Anvil’ No.2 was going to "Hammer" No.6, this in order to break him, and was not pulled up by No.1 in this desire. And finally in ‘Once Upon A Time’ it had to be either one of them, No.6 or No.2. which means they are willing to take the risk with No.6's life. Why have I not included both Checkmate and ‘A Change of Mind?’ Well there was the threat in both episodes of a leucotomy being carried out on No.6, to knock out the aggressive frontal lobes. But then that was all it was, a threat, which would never have been carried out, not on their prize prisoner.

So the questions remains, why was No.2's hands tied, when a number of his successors would later be given a free hand in the case of the Prisoner-No.6. Perhaps at this point of ‘A B and C,’ No.1 didn't want to go so far as to lose No.6, understand, lose him!

A Change of Mind - A, that No.6 has his mind changed by the operation! {well not really, as No.6 never actually underwent that particular operation, he was merely sedated!}. B, that the good citizens of the village had their minds changed about No.2, by No.6!

Peter Smith

Smith in itself is a common enough name, John Smith might even be more common. But Peter Smith is the name that the Prisoner gave to Mrs. Butterworth, and should we doubt that that is his real name, or one given off the cuff so to speak at the time? Well the Prisoner would have to verify his name, and that would be done either by the name on the lease of the house, or the logbook of the car. But both bore the name of the new owner, which was lucky for the Prisoner - otherwise he just might have had to reveal his own name, and Pat McGoohan wouldn't have wanted that now, would he? Hence the name Peter Smith.

Sir - You Play A Fine game

No.14-the chess champion was not referring to how No.6 played the game on the chessboard, but in the way he plays the game in the village. No.2 plays games with people in order to help hi get what he wants, No.2 being the first advocate for that in the way he assigned No.9 both to Cobb, and then No.6. But No.6 is also a master of playing with people, he knows how to manipulate them, just as he does as he chooses his reliable men in the episode of ‘Checkmate.’

However we all use people, we all play games with people and each other, on and off the chessboard. We all play games with people, consciously or otherwise - don't we?

“Well done Fotheringay. You’d better get beck before any embarrassing questions are asked.” What did No.2 mean? Fotheringay didn’t do anything, except help “egg the pudding” so top speak, to help convince No.6 that he really was back in London, and to that extent help fool the people who were watching, the television viewer!

Fotheringay who was on old friend and colleague of the Prisoner's, who gave the impression that he couldn't wait to see him, but who just as quickly stabbed his old friend in the back! What's more Fotheringay seemed to have no conscience about what he'd done to help the Colonel. All he wanted to know was what his next assignment would be. At least with No.2 you knew where you stood!

Cobb - whose suicidal death was faked in Arrival, as indeed was his funeral but a sad affair for No.9 nonetheless for that. So Cobb, who was alive and well, was allowed to leave the village "Mustn’t keep my new masters waiting" Cobb tells the new No.2. Cobb promises to give them No.2's compliments, and will tell them that there are no loopholes.

Hang on a minute! Hasn't Cobb just exploited one loophole? Soon he'll be back in London, to work for his new masters. But this also opens up the possibility of Cobb being able to simply disappear once he is back in the old country!

No loopholes, I think Cobb found such a loophole and exploited it so as to escape the Village! Even if Cobb did go working for his new masters, he had in fact escaped the Village!

A change of mind, it was a terrible thing to do. At the beginning the Prisoner known as Number Six probably didn’t know too much about it, I expect he was heavily sedated at the time. He had to begin to deal what “they” had done to him from the moment he saw the face unknown in the mirror. At the beginning I should have imagined that it must have been a more terrible ordeal for the Colonel. He had been seconded to the Village, although he looked slightly uncomfortable to be there, and not to know why. It was all explained to him, that it was possible to put the mind of one person into the body of another, mind transference. However I cannot help but wonder how it was for the Colonel? Did he go willingly, or was he dragged kicking and screaming to the operating theatre? Perhaps he, like the Prisoner, had been heavily sedated. But one thing is for sure, the Colonel did not survive the mind transference ordeal. And yet he was loyal to the end, in fact his last thought was of Number 1, “Tell Number One I did my duty.” And in that there perhaps lies the answer, the Colonel being an ex-Army man, used to doing his duty, carrying out orders. He might not have batted an eyelid at having to undergo the mind transference, a stiff upper lip and that kind of thing, not the regimental way to show fear in front of the men.“Why did you resign?” That‘s what Number Two used to ask. “Number Two?” Chairman of the Village. “I’m here to ask the questions old boy.” I’ve always thought this Colonel to be something of a stupid …………..And yet what if there had been but one Colonel, the one we see in ‘Arrival,’ the same Colonel who the Prisoner went to see when making that call in the country, and more so, the same Colonel in ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.’

I always thought Sir Charles Portland was superfluous, and that would include Janet Portland. I know the Prisoner had left the receipt for the transparencies with Janet for safe keeping or in time of trouble, but he could have simply have left that receipt in the wall safe behind the television set in the lounge of his house. It would have been safe there as anywhere, besides they still got their hands on those transparencies thanks to Mister Carmichael and a clerical error!However returning to the Colonel. In the previous two episodes in which the Prisoner believed he had escaped the Village he’s always gone running back to the Colonel………….but in this case perhaps the Colonel was otherwise engaged, his mind wrongly housed in the body of the Prisoner back in the Village! And that is probably why the Prisoner had to go and see Sir Charles Portland instead. I had never looked at it that way before, not in all my years of appreciation for ‘the Prisoner.’ As detective Inspector Baynes once said “I thought I had squeezed all the juice out of it, but I see there was a little over” --{The Mystery of Wisteria Lodge by Arthur Conan Doyle}.

How do we know that this is the true face of Doctor Jacob Setlzman? Because we have to accept what we are told, what we see on the television screen. And yet, he may very well have first tested his machine out on himself with some unsuspecting victim patient some years pervious. Which in turn leads to the questions of when and where?

It Was A Shock!

Well it must have been, for No.2 to find out that he was C! No.6 really did play No.2 for a fool. But then that's what you get when you become over confident. He underestimated No.6, and at the end I think the doctor-No.14 was mildly pleased by the result. After all No.2 had been placed under pressure by No.1, and No.2 transferred that pressure to No.14. We all do that, we kick down when the pressure is on.

Originally when I saw this episode, I thought we would never see this particular No.2 again. However No.1 must have seen that the failure of ‘A B and C’ was not all his, and so was brought back for a second chance in ‘The General,’ a second chance which was not directly linked to No.6. No.2 having become involved with No.6 because of No.6 poking his nose it where it wasn't wanted!

As for the doctor-No.14, we never see here again. Perhaps she was confined tohospital work only, or worse. Because when we encounter No.14 next, he's the chess champion in the episode of ‘Checkmate.’

"A still tongue make a happy life" especially those married to a 'fish wife!'

Playing The Role

It was once written that it could never be imagined that anyone other than Patrick McGoohan could play the role of Number 6. Well they will have to get used to the idea, as there's soon to be a new SIX, and a new village to boot!

But don't worry, 6 is but a number and I'm quite sure that Patrick McGoohan was not the first NUMBER SIX, indeed the character of NUMBER SIX can be traced all the way back to 1927.

Friday, 25 October 2013

With No.1 running the Village, they must know, or at least No.1 must know, the reason behind No.6's resignation. So why continue to ask the question "Why did you resign?" Perhaps the doctor's diagnosis of No.6 in 'A B and C' is correct, that it is an anguish pattern - agonising physical or mental disorder. It could be that No.6 was still agonising over his decision of having resigned, and thereby he continues to persecute himself because of his resignation.

Its strange, well it's Patrick McGoohan who was a strange man. Here he is pictured dancing with 'C' played by actress Annette Carrell in 'A B and C.' He seems at ease with her, comfortable even. And yet he couldn't play a small romantic scene with Nadia Gray during 'The Chimes of Big Ben,' he had to play the scene with a stand-in for Nadia!

No.8 committed suicide at the end of ‘Living In Harmony.’ It is a warder, not a prisoner who chose to meet his own end in this way, by throwing himself off a balcony in the Sliver Dollar Saloon. Suicide for No.8 rather than face humiliation from No.2, because of the failure of his method, and retribution from the Villages administration for the murder of No.8 by his bare hands!

“I Too Have A Problem” No.6 Told the Colonel.

Well so do we the viewer have a problem, because we're not too sure which side runs the village. But more, as with the character of Thorpe, the Colonel and Fotheringay, we don't know whose side they are on!

Why 6?

Well, a rather prosaic explanation was once offered many years ago now, namely because Patrick McGoohan liked that particular brand of cigarettes - No.6. Rubbish! Patrick McGoohan only smoked one brand of cigarette - Senior Service.

Too Many Questions And Not Enough Answers?

That is how I once viewed the 1960's television series the Prisoner. Then I started to see that too many things were being read into the series, things which were never there in the first place, nor were ever meant to be. Everyday occurrences were being misinterpreted, and the search for so called "hidden meanings" within the series was all encompassing for many fans of the Prisoner, hidden meanings which I have been unable to find - because they simply do not exist!

I have found that the simple answer is quite often the best answer, and to over complicate the matter leads to having to start from the beginning again! The use of reasoned logic, and not going off at a tangent along the path of the allegorical, also helps when it comes to putting answers to the questions of the Prisoner and his Village.

What Happened After I resigned?

I resigned because for a very long time.......... just a minute, this isn't the Village!

No, I was working in the wonderful world of security at the time, having risen to a position of authority. Yet things had been building up to a point where I had no option but to hand in my letter of resignation, which was accepted!

On the day I left the organisation, I was surprised to see that I was not being followed by a black hearse. I returned home, and there was no undertaker entering my house, no nerve-gas being pumped into the lounge through the keyhole! No subsequent abduction to an Italianate village, only the subsequent visit to the local Job Centre, where a woman asked me why I resigned......... and subsequently I was then pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed and numbered, my life was no longer my own. Bloody hell, the Job Centre was worse than the village!

Why did I resign? Because for a very long time......... Well suffice to say that my life is now at long last, my own.

Thursday, 24 October 2013

In the episode 'the General,' I believe the props men had already decided on a device which acts as a security device at security check-points in the tunnels below the Town Hall, as pictured below.

Then one morning Patrick McGoohan arrived carrying a childs "Magic Money Box"﻿ and said this is what he wanted to be used, and left them no choice in the matter. I believe they thought it rather silly!

About Me

An enthusiast of the 1960's television series 'the Prisoner.' A writer, author, and considered an authority on the series.
'The Prisoner' captivated me from the moment of that clash of thunder in the opening sequence, and I have been a prisoner of 'the Prisoner' ever since.